


Hidden Titans (Kakushi no Kyojin)

by TetraShard



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 13 Titans, Alternate Universe, Artificial Titan, Blade Titan, Body Swap, Graphic Violence, Graphic deaths, Hidden Titan, Hound Titan, Human Experimentation, Mole Titan, Original Titan, Self-Insert, War, Warhammer Titan - Freeform, Warhammer Titan Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:02:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29272923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TetraShard/pseuds/TetraShard
Summary: A stranger from another world finds themselves in a body that doesn’t belong to them but to a person of a fictitious land. However, this world is different from the one they’ve come to know about. There are more Titan holders. If they are to survive the fate of the person they’ve become, they’re gonna need to shake up the status quo.
Relationships: Jean Kirstein/Original Character(s), Ymir/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 27





	1. Inheritance

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a daydream but kind of took on a life of its own. I’ve written 7 chapters already but I don’t know whether to post them or not. If I do decide to continue the story then it will become a long fic. But I do hope someone enjoys this chapter.

I was looking off into space. It’s been happening regularly. I’ll be doing something and suddenly a couple of minutes turns into an hour that’s passed. Sometimes not even my friends talking to me will shake me out of it.

This time however, I was easily snapped out of it when someone called out to me, or rather the person I was supposed to be.

“Elizabeth! Ellie, wake up,” I felt the strong hands latch onto my shoulders first. They were large enough to clasp around them which I found strange. They also felt soft, the hands of someone who hasn’t had to work hard labour their entire lives.

“Ellie we need to get out of here before the patrols come by. They only gave us a few hours of privacy.”

Why does he keep calling me Ellie? I’m obviously not even a girl.

The floor swayed beneath me as I was pulled to my feet. Cold air was nipping at my entire body. I could only hear and feel the things going on but my vision was still struggling to adapt to my surroundings.

We hadn’t gotten very far when I stumbled with my feet and fell on the ground. I felt extremely light and smaller than I am. I could also feel the blades of grass on my skin. That’s when I realised that I was naked, only being covered by a towel that rested on my back.

“Get up, we can rest once we get back to the mansion.”

The hands once again held my body firmly as I was dragged back onto my feet. I didn't like this. When were my eyes going to finally adjust? I needed to see for myself what was going on. Where the hell was I and why the fuck was I naked?

“This would be easier if your eyes hadn’t been torn off when you came back,” the man whined.

_Come again?_

“What do you mean?” This time I heard a woman’s voice asking the same thing I was thinking. Thank you stranger.

However, no answer ever came and whoever asked the question didn't think there was a need to pursue the issue. Whatever was going on I guess being caught out here wasn’t an option they’d want to face.

“We’re almost there,” the man said after a long time of silence.

My feet were aching from walking on grass, dirt, and occasional concrete.

“Willy!” Someone whispered loudly. “I see it’s been done.”

Willy? I almost snorted. That’s just a ridiculous name to have. I felt sorry for the man. He sounded old enough to be an adult and he was stuck with such a silly name. I wonder if he ever had trouble being taken seriously.

“Yes. She’s inherited our family’s symbol. No one was close by and we made it out before anyone could see us.”

“Good come in before anyone sees her condition and pieces things together.”

I finally had my sight clear up once we were inside. It was blurry at first. I couldn’t see any sort of detail or even outlines of anything. It was just light and shapeless colour. Then objects sharpened followed by contrast in colours. Last was my depth perception.

My body was shaking with nerves at the return of my sight. Did I really want to see who I’ve been with for the past hour maybe? I was definitely curious to see the mystery girl everyone’s been talking about. She’s been awfully quiet this whole time only having spoken once and it was to voice the exact question that had been running through my head.

“Her eyes are back, Nan!”

“Oh you poor thing.” The same woman that greeted us took my face into her hands before I could turn to look at the man that spoke.

She turned me to face her in order to inspect something. She was old. I don’t mean that in a mean way, I know you’re never supposed to point out a woman’s age but she looked like a grandmother. Her face had a lot of saggy skin although it still appeared to be smooth and wrinkle free. Her hair was also greying with threads of white hairs.

The woman let go of my face and handed me clothes, _finally!_ and proceeded to shove me off into a bathroom to change.

“You shower quickly and settle into warm clothes. I’ll make sure to make you something warm for when you come out. Don’t you dare worry about anything else until then,” she said sternly before closing the door for me.

That was weird. Scratch that. This is all weird. What the hell was going on?

I dumped the clothes on the sink and dropped the towel I had wrapped around me all this time. I didn’t even bother looking at the mirror. My muscles were immensely sore and all the heat my body had was drained by the walk here. I needed a warm bath.

I didn’t even notice my small hand and thin fingers as I reached out to the shower knob. I didn’t notice the long hair that tried to get tangled on everything as I moved. I didn’t even notice the lack of feeling in my nether regions as the shower’s steam pushed the cold air to the floor.

My blood grew cold when I finally noticed it. The mirror was in my peripheral vision and I kept it there not wanting to look directly at it. I could see a girl staring back, naked. She had a pale body, flat stomach and stood fairly tall with black hair that rested atop her budding breasts.

“Fuck. Me.” I groaned when the girl in the reflection mirrored my steps forward. “I’m a girl.”

I moved closer to the mirror to inspect myself. The first thing to catch my eyes were my breasts. They were a medium size. Not too big, not too small. The fact that this was the first thing I noticed did not bode well for the argument that men don’t think about nude women all the time. But to be fair, I was thinking about this. I was living this.

The second thing to catch my eyes were near my eyes. There were groves next to my eyes. Two stretch marks next to them and four long gashes on my cheeks. Whoever this girl was must’ve gone through hell.

A shudder passed my body. The people who might’ve done this were waiting on the other side of this door.

I still didn't have a clue about what was going on when I came out of the shower but at least I had some time to take my mind off this and refresh myself. 

Once I was dressed I was able to focus on my hair. It was a wet mess. Plastered all over my shirt and refusing to dry. I had no clue how to dry off this much hair with a towel. It was also difficult to brush by myself. Kudos to the girls who get this done every morning.

“Fuck it. This is too hard,” I told myself and stepped back from the mirror. I crouched a bit to brace myself and began to fling my head around creating a whirl of hair. Another thing I’ve wanted to do but never did because long hair was too difficult to take care of and didn’t benefit me in my past life.

Now with the excess water wrung out, I was able to brush my new hair with better ease. I tried looking for elastics to tie my hair back but I couldn’t find any. So I ended up settling for an odd piece of fabric that was among other pieces on a hook next to the mirror. Odd, but it would do, good thing I can at least tie bows and knots.

The clothes I was given were very old fashioned. The undergarments were a plain T- whose sleeves ended in ruffles and boxer-like underwear. The dress that goes on top was black with puffy shoulders and long sleeves. I ended up looking like a Victorian maid with these. Maybe I should flaunt around naked instead.

With me finally looking presentable, the last thing on my to do list was to figure out where I was and whether I could make a journey back home. Maybe my family would believe me and we could work something out with whoever was in my body now. As long as these folks weren’t out of a horror novel by Stephen King everything should be okay. So please god. Please don’t have them be psychopaths that kidnap women and keep them locked in their sex dungeon.

I took a deep breath — “Calm yourself. Act normal so that they won’t lock you up in a psychiatric ward.” — and walked out of the bathroom with a serene face until the smell of food hit me.

“Oh yeah,” I moaned with my watering mouth. “These people might not be so bad if this is how they treat their friends,” I smiled.

“Yes. We both are the only people who know about Elizabeth’s inheritance. No one else in the family knows either. It’s necessary to make sure our family is the only one to hold the war hammer.” I could hear Willy talking as I paused behind the wall.

War Hammer? Wait, we weren’t even carrying any weapons with us. Right? God damn it, I was blind the entire time.

I must’ve made some noise when I was dwelling in my thoughts because the next thing I knew I was being called over. The name of the girl I was now was named Elizabeth. I remembered from coming into the house.

“Elizabeth! Come sit down, you absolutely must tell us everything.” The pudgy woman waved me over to the table where there were three bowls, two already empty, of stew.

I don’t know how I looked trying to approach them but the man ended up asking, “Are you okay? Is your memory fine?”

“Mm-my memory? What do you mean?” I chuckled nervously. A chill ran down my spine. It was a struggle to not breathe deeply as I waited for him to answer.

“Father said that…” he started but was interrupted by _Nan_ , that’s what he called the woman.

“Hush. What you need right now is some food inside you. Willy, let your sister rest for a bit before bombarding her with questions.”

“Oh, come on Nan, she’s the only one we can talk to that’s been through this. The government keeps the warriors on a tight leash and working all the time.” Willy rolled his eyes but didn't pursue me with questions anymore.

I guess I needed to eat something in order to have my questions answered. So I picked up the spoon next to the bowl. Stirring the contents a little, I could see that there were a bunch of vegetables, mainly potatoes, with chunks of meat.

“It’s okay, Ellie. It’s not like we’re going to poison you,” Nan chuckled.

I blushed sheepishly and scooped up a chunk of meat. Oh lord, this was delicious.

“ _Mmmm,_ ” I moaned involuntarily. “Is this pork?” I observed.

“Yeah, a shipment of pigs just came in and like always we got first pick. I slaughtered the fattest pig for this momentous occasion!” Nan beamed at me.

“So, about this occasion. What is it?”

“So your memories were affected,” Willy leaned back into his chair. His gaze was on me but I felt like he was a million miles away at the moment.

“Uh, Nan?” I turned to the older woman hoping that maybe she could explain what they were talking about earlier.

She also seemed to be affected by my revelation of the state of “my” memories. Her face had been filled with joy literally a minute ago and was now filled with shock I guess you could say.

“How much —” she paused, covering her mouth with a hand. It seemed like she was thinking over her question. “How much do you remember?”

I opened my mouth about to tell her a half truth being nothing but then paused myself. I realised that I couldn’t figure out who _I_ was either. I tried to force myself to remember. What was my name? Who am I? What was my life like? I couldn’t. I was crashing against a wall that barred me from my memories.

I know that I wasn’t a woman before waking up earlier today. I was a man with a dick and all. I could recall feelings of what it was like having one. The pleasures of stimulation, the frustrations that came with the territory, sensations of pain. 

It was a very bad time and kind of shallow but thoughts of the nature of my sexuality were being born into my brain. I don’t know why but it scared me. If I liked women would that come from me? If I liked men, would it be this girl’s preference that was forcing me into it?

Regardless, my life story and all the context of that was gone. I was floating in a void where I knew memories used to fill.

“I can’t remember anything,” my voice was faint as I admitted what I realised. Right now the room was swaying. Nausea clenched around my stomach as my throat burned with bile. My body seized as my body suddenly gasped unevenly. I really hope I wasn’t going to start crying. That’s another thing I think I’m sure of, I never cried when I was me and I sure as hell didn't want to start now in front of these people.

“So you don’t even remember your name?” Willy’s question brought me to.

“I know that you guys have been calling me Elizabeth. But no.” I also couldn’t remember my real name.

Willy and Nan looked at each other and sighed. “Well, your father did say that this might happen. I just didn't think it would be this extreme.” Willy confessed.

“I just wish I had been trusted with the secret when your father inherited it so that I would know how to help poor Elizabeth.”

I blushed again. I don’t know why but this was bothering me. I didn't like that they were so distressed because of me. Perhaps something remained in me from the girl. Her worries of her family might now be mine. The concept of body switching was as confusing as it was horrifying.

“Well, first things first. Your name is Elizabeth Tybur. Daughter of William Sr. I’m your Nan, your father’s mother.” Tybur? Why did that name sound so familiar?

“And I’m Willy, your older brother.” Willy gave me a fashionable salute. I could almost picture his regalness with the movements he made.

“Yeah, I figured you were older than me,” I said waving a hand over myself.

“Yes, it would be obvious,” he chuckled with a wry smile.

“So what happened today? What’s this about inheriting a War Hammer? Is our family, like, obsessed with medieval weaponry or something?” I laughed at my own joke. But deep down I was starting to put it together.

Inheritance.

They weren’t talking about any measly inheritance that was gained after the death of a loved one. This large estate would’ve been the main inheritance and a little girl wouldn’t be getting something that these people were revering with respect.

Warhammer.

It wasn’t a weapon. They were talking about a power. A being. That’s why I hadn’t seen or heard any heavy weapons when we were running toward the house. Hell, we wouldn’t have been able to run if we were lugging such a heavy blunt weapon.

My eyes.

My eyes weren’t adjusting the darkness when I woke up. If they were then I would’ve regained my sight long before we arrived at the mansion. Willy had mentioned my eyes being ripped out. I didn't want to believe him. I’d squashed that mention deep in my mind to not accept such a horrible truth. Yet I didn't think anything of it when I was able to see again. Those marks on my face when I was looking at myself in the mirror weren’t birthmarks or old scars either. They were recent things that had been engraved on my skin.

Warriors.

I thought Willy was talking about maybe a movie or soldiers. It fit the narrative I’d formed in my head about them. Fanatics of the medieval era with all the talk about a warhammer heirloom.

Willy Tybur.

I realised that all this time I’ve been thinking Willy’s face looked oddly familiar. I’d seen it somewhere but it was a little different.

Fuck! I’m the younger sister of Willy! That meant that I’d just been dropped into my death sentence. I was the person that Eren Yeager would kill in his rampage when he arrived in Marley. Eaten alive thanks to his hatred of the mainland Eldians.

“The War Hammer is a titan that is inherited by the Tybur family. Tonight was the night you inherited it.”

“Then that means that I…” Oh man, I felt a violent pull on my stomach. It almost made me flee to the restroom.

“Yes, you ate our father to inherit the powers of the War Hammer Titan. One of the 13 titans in the world.” This was my chance. Now that I know what my destiny is I was determined to change it and what better way than to exploit a titan power.

I unfocused my eyes and stared off into the distance letting my hand droop onto the table. But I wasn’t going to be too dramatic to the point of letting go of the spoon, that would be overselling it too much.

“Elizabeth? Elizabeth.” Nan prodded me.

I shook my head scrunching my face in confusion. “Willy? Nan?” I looked up at them making my eyes water.

“What’s wrong? What did you see?” Willy leaned forward.

“I— I remember things. Marley, the war. King Fritz.” I pressed my hand against my forehead.

“Does that mean you remember everything?”

“No.” I looked at Nan and shook my head. “I still don’t remember my own life. But there’s something more. I also saw the future.”


	2. The Hidden Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth gets a chance to use her Titan powers at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided to rename the story into Hidden Titans. Someone tell me if the Translation to Japanese is correct or not. I couldn’t really find a reliable translation device.

It didn't take a lot to convince the Tyburs of the Warhammer suddenly having the future memory inheritance ability or whatever it’s called. By the next morning, Willy had called a meeting with the Marleyan leaders. I spent most of that morning in my bedroom itching to try out titan shifting.

Ever since I watched the show — I still don’t know why or how I know that this world is a show when I don’t even know what my name is — I always wanted to have that power. Imagine being larger than a building able to wreak havoc on the world. Smash your hand through a house like it was made out of cards and kick a tank into the horizon as you would do a ball. You can cause more destruction like that than randomly swerving into oncoming traffic. Not that I ever did that but you can’t deny those thoughts have crossed your mind.

The thing was that this world was a little different. There were more than 9 titans. 4 extra ones. Thanks to Nan I got a brief overview on all of them. The 9 regular ones were still the same as the ones from the anime.

The other 4 titans were as follows. The Blade Titan. That one got its name from the bones that jutted out of its skin. They were natural weapons for it. Apparently though it was part of the jaw titan but when Marley found out that the jaw titan was a double Titan they took a gamble and let the wielder die without passing it on in order to separate the two.

Then there was the Hound Titan. The best tracker. As a human, the Titan wielder could detect other titan shifters. As a Titan, it’s sight and smell were enhanced allowing it to track literally anything on the world.

The last two were the Hidden Titan and the Mole Titan. These two were a package deal for the Marleyan army since the Hidden Titan didn't have any notable traits from what I could tell. The only ability it had was changing the appearance and genetics of the shifter’s human form.

The Mole Titan was another 4 Metre Titan. It got its name from the ability to tunnel for long periods of time. It also had the detriment of being blind though. It navigated mainly due to it’s amazing hearing. It also had the ability to tether itself to other Titans and communicate with them over long distances which was the reason why it was paired with the Hidden Titan.

Unfortunately for the Marleyan Military, two decades ago, the Tybur family secured the Hidden Titan and hadn’t seen combat since then. In fact, no one has seen the Hidden Titan at all. To the outside world it and the Warhammer have vanished for their protection.

I really couldn’t have chosen a better family to be “reborn” into. The Tybur family had access to so many sources of information. They also had a powerful pull in the government for Willy to be able to summon a meeting as sudden as he did. This would make it easier for me to convince them to send me into the Paradis mission.

“Ellie,” Willy knocked softly on my door.

“I don’t think it would be wise for you to come in unless you want to see me in god’s glory,” I warned when I heard the door start creaking.

I was lying on the bed really in the nude. I did not like the clothes I had to wear as a woman. They were just too big and voluminous. It also didn't help that I looked like a cosplayer for the Handmaiden’s tale. So just not wearing anything was better than those dreadful dresses.

“Oh, I — I’m sorry.” I could hear the embarrassment in his voice as he quickly shut the door.

“What did you want to say?” I wasn’t going to rush to dress up to let him in.

“The Marleyans believe your vision to be true. The Warrior you mentioned to be a candidate for the armoured Titan was rejected for the reason you gave. This means that we can send in a shifter of our own to accompany them… You know what this means though don’t you?” I could detect sorrow in his voice but I couldn’t tell what he was sad about.

“Yeah, it means we’re betraying the only people in the world who don’t want to persecute us along with the rest of our people,” I answered.

But this was necessary. I don’t want to die. Not to the curse of Ymir and not to Eren. I will do whatever it takes to survive. And if I could save the people who help me then I’ll do it.

“But we need to do this if we want to continue surviving. The end of the world as we know it is upon us. And we only have three choices in how to face it. Accept fate and die, try our hand against fate and die, or we succeed in doing something about it. Think about it, Willy.”

Willy sighed. The door groaned and I could hear him drop to the floor — he was probably sitting.

“I don’t need to think about it. There’s nothing to think about. I want to keep you safe. And if you say that throwing you in the mouth of danger is the way to do it then I guess I’ll throw you in there myself. But if you’re going to do this. You’re going to need all the help you can get. That means starting your training as a warrior.”

“Oh, no!” My body sank into the mattress like lead.

I know for a fact that I wasn’t the most active person in my past life. I could already feel the soreness in my muscles at the thought of all the rigorous exercises I was going to be put through. The arm break pushups, back throbbing sit ups, side piercing marathons, and bone snapping planks. And those were starting exercises according to my coach. Huh, I remember having a coach, neat.

“You could always stay here you know. Enjoy the luxuries of life before we meet our makers,” Willy teased.

“Definitely not, but aren’t the warriors supposed to leave for Paradis soon?”

“Not for another year. If you ask me, that’s enough time to whip you into proper shape. You’re not going to be on par with those cadets but at least you’ll be able to hold your own.”

* * *

**1 year later**

The entire year was just as bad as I had imagined it to be. It was filled with nonstop workouts and fixed menus to keep me in shape courtesy of Nan. Meanwhile, Willy had to go straight into the political arena that our father left him. Originally, he thought about postponing his entrance into it but the information I gave him really didn't give him any other choice.

I hadn’t been able to use the Warhammer as often as I wanted. Willy only allowed me to train that power a total of 5 times. It was always in an isolated conflict with our enemies where no Marleyan forces were present. I wasn’t even allowed to fight alongside the other Titan shifters, not that I’m complaining. Fighting alone and causing destruction was better when I had everything to myself actually.

Today was also the 6th time I was going to be able to use the Warhammer.

The sun was high in the sky making the air hot in this dry desert. A Mid-Eastern military city rested in the distance. It wasn’t going to be possible for me to get into as a human. My complexion was different from theirs so I would stick out like a sore thumb. Plus, I couldn’t think straight right now since I was going to be able to use my titan once again.

I was happier than a man on morphine. Do you have any idea how powerful it is being a Titan? You can literally move mountains if you wanted to, and the war hammer could create anything with its hardening ability. This was my favourite thing about finding myself in a death trap anime.

My hand ran over the blade sheathed in my waistband. I wasn’t able to easily bite my hand or inflict any self harm on myself. I guess I’m a bit squeamish in a way. That’s why I was given a blade so that I can transform easily. But I wouldn’t be needing it right now.

Gunfire exploded as several marksmen shot at me. They whizzed by me harmlessly.

It was a struggle but I managed to keep my strut without flinching. Then one finally found its target on my left shoulder. I felt the punch of an MMA fighter condensed into a small point in space. It tore through my skin and muscle until it found its way out again.

The volleys died down and I stood there with a smirk. They definitely knew how fucked they are.

Yellow energy rippled around me and I could see the haunting look in all of the shooters’ eyes before lightning enveloped me.

In my previous lessons, Nan taught me how to form a crystal and link cord to stay outside of the titan while fighting. I didn't form that crystal. I wanted to be as close to the action this time so I could feel the change in elevation as I stayed in my titan’s nape.

I’ve watched the other titan shifters when they transform from afar and they’re somehow able to do it in a couple of seconds. But mine takes a long time. I suppose the armour part is what slows it down.

I could imagine the cold touch of the white hardened titan flesh that covered my skin.

I was now able to easily look over the wall at my soon to be conquest and there were a ton of people scared shitless. Some trembled, others ran away, and others picked up their weapons.

Holding my hand out, I felt my staff start to materialise. That’s when the next volley of bullets began. This time they were accompanied by several canon explosions. Metal spheres slammed into my body but I was too big for them to even budge. I guess anti titan artillery still hasn’t been properly developed then.

I swung my new scythe over my shoulder like a baseball player and then let loose all my strength in one powerful swing.

Pieces of stone went flying into the air as my scythe cut through it like butter. I swung again in the opposite direction this time knocking more chunks of rock into the inner part of the city. Human screams of agony fell on my deaf ears as I charged through the damaged wall sending a hail of boulders smashing into the military city.

I raise my free hand as I summon hardened spikes to jut through multiple buildings and demolish them.

Another platoon of soldiers began attacking me from my right side. Aside from cannons and muskets, these soldiers are carrying harpoons. 2 harpoons are shot low hitting my chest and snapping their bodies. But 3 were aimed smartly. 2 stab me in the eye making me roar in annoyance. Another sinks below the other eye.

With my vision only partially impaired, I summon another structure from the ground. A white column of hardened titan flesh rises above my height and I push it down. Bones snap and blood splatters over the ground as my column crushes them along with their harpoon launchers.

I let go of my scythe and let it fall heavily over a watchtower. Two new weapons formed in my hands. The handles were thick and solid. Attached to their ends was a flexible version of titan flesh that were frayed at the ends.

I leaned forward and began charging through buildings. The whips dragged behind me allowing their weight to crush the buildings that managed to survive my rampage. Every now and then I would swing them in front of me to destroy buildings I wasn’t planning on ramming through.

My attack ended up taking up a little under 2 hours. I’d razed the city down to the ground. Rocks and twisted metal littered the entire ground with smouldering wood. The walls on the other hand were still standing. There were cracks and chips across it from stray shots the military took but the only part that was destroyed was where I broke through.

What I came to do had been accomplished. On the horizon I could see several military convoys driving over.

Debris was crushed into smaller trash as I made my way out of the city. I fell to my knees and started disconnecting myself from my titan.

The Warhammer titan is covered in a 5 inch layer of hard titan skin. It was near impenetrable but when I wanted to exit my titan I can make the nape shed for me to pull myself out of.

Hot air hissed as I pulled myself up to a standing position. My nose wrinkled in disgust. The smell of gunpowder and smoke almost knocked me off. There was also a tinge of burnt flesh.

The Warhammer Titan had degraded heavily by the time the convoy had arrived. It’s rib cage was partially exposed and the white flesh was mostly gone.

“It’s always beautiful to watch your titan, Elizabeth.” Willy stepped forward to embrace me.

“Willy.” I returned his embrace.

“Come, we’re going to dinner. It’ll be the last chance you’ll have for a delicious meal on our home turf.”


	3. The Hidden Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s almost time for Elizabeth to leave on the Paradis mission but Willy has a gift that’ll make infiltration easier for her.

“Oh my god! Willy!” Girls screeched as our security took them away.

“You seem to be such a lady's man,” I tease. “So when are you going to start testing the waters?”

“Wha—? Me? Oh no. I’m barely 24. Besides—” there was a pause as he stirred his cup of tea. “I’m going to be busy while you’re gone. Father’s gone. So I’m going to need to go overseas and try to establish some friendships. Yuki’s parents always loved me, maybe I’ll start with our friends up north.”

I smiled trying to seem like I understood a word he said. Since my arrival in this world, I still hadn’t been able to unlock the memories of Elizabeth and I’ve been pretending that they were all wiped out when I glimpsed the future.

Willy’s eyes locked with mine and realisation shined in them. “I’m sorry. I forgot about your situation.” He scratched his head softly.

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. They’d probably become a liability where I’m going. Better to start as fresh as I can to avoid screwing up any kind of backstory I might come up with.”

“Understandable. As long as you don’t forget how much your family loves you.” Willy laid his hands on top of mine. “You’re my sister. It hurts how Father couldn’t care any less about your well being when he chose you as the Family inheritor.

“Willy.” At this moment I could feel the familial bond I’d been building up with the Tybur family. “I will be happy to be going away from those brats though.” That got a chuckle out of him.

“They really are the spawns of the devil, huh.”

Willy’s expression hardened. I could see he was troubled by the expression. The Tybur family might be worshipped by the world as their saviours and liberators of Eldian tyranny, but their blood still ran through our veins.

“How do you know we’re spawns of the devil and it isn’t the other way around?”

“What do you mean?” Willy cocked his head in confusion.

“I think that religion is a human creation. We can’t accept that we aren’t the byproduct of universal luck. A fluke of the system. Therefore, we create all-powerful beings to whom we can pin the blame for all the bad things that happen. And we also created beings to whom we can ask for things to happen.

“So I’ll repeat. Who created who. Did the devil create us? Or did we create him?”

Willy sat deep in thought stroking his peach fuzz. “Your thought process is incredible. This truly does change my view on things. You might have given me a weapon for my work.”

“Jeez. You’re just a kid fer cryin’ out loud,” Willy suddenly blurted out. He pressed his palm against his eyes and clenched his teeth in anger. “You deserved a normal childhood. Now since you’ve inherited the Titan, you’re like an older woman trapped in a girl’s body.”

He slammed a closed fist on the table shaking up the glass dishes. A river of tears slid down his face. I could see his hands shaking with rage and I couldn’t help but feel useless at the moment.

“It’s not your fault.” Was the only thing I managed to squeak out. And I’m not sure Willy even heard me.

There wasn’t anything more to say. I couldn’t eat after watching Willy lose his mind. So while he regained his composure I simply watched the rising moon.

“I still can’t believe that a few hours ago I was burning an entire military city to the ground.”

Willy was calmer now and his face was back to its usual appearance. An almost mechanical cold smile. He was still some ways away from being the charming elegant Willy Tybur he’s supposed to be. I wonder if he’ll even have the chance to be that version in this new timeline I’m creating.

“I’ll never know what it’s like to be a titan. And I don’t think I’d ever like to know. I really do wish to live a long life, no offence.”

“I can’t really take an O-fence anyways.” Willy snorted at my dumb wordplay joke.

“I’m going to miss your more lively nature. That was the one good thing that came from your inheritance. Our father really messed you up.” Willy frowned as he brought up our father again.

“Hmm. So far today, you haven’t tried to make me give up on our plan.”

He shrugged. “I know when to give up. Something you can’t comprehend.”

“Ah, there it is.” More laughter.

“But I’m serious, Willy. I’m going on the Paradis mission with the other recruits.”

“And what will you do there?” Oh, so we’re doing this. Willy and Nan had been drilling me with the plan these past months now that we were so close to the date.

“I’m going to find a way to fake my death. If we can get the recruits to avert suspicion from the Tybur family, it’ll become easier to move the chess piece into the right places.”

“And what else?”

“Eliminate the Hunting Titan. Blowing the whistle on an uprising within the walls has made the Marleyan military take precautionary measures. By getting rid of their bloodhound, we give the Paradis Eldians the element of surprise.

“I’ll need to lay low and only use my titan if Paradis is in danger of being defeated. From now on, I’ll defend the Founding Titan. We can’t risk the Warhammer being discovered but we can’t risk our plans being soiled either.”

“Good. And I know you’re set on going, that’s why I arranged for you to get some extra help.”

* * *

“Hello, Elizabeth,” the old woman I’ve come to know as Nan, my mother figure, smiled with closed eyes.

“Nan!” She moved under my weight as I hugged her. “It’s been a good minute since we’ve seen each other.”

“The military sure does have you very busy, doesn’t it, child.”

“Yeah. I’ve had to fill a crash course on being a warrior. I’ve even toppled a city or two,” I displayed the muscles I’d been cultivating.

“I’m sure you’ll make the family proud,” she sighed. “Still, I wish this wouldn’t be the last time I’ll see you.”

“Don’t talk like that, Nan. I’ll be back in a few years. There’ll be enough time for us to catch up before I have to pass on my titan.” I shuddered. I still had no idea how I’d be able to escape Ymir’s curse. But I guarantee you I’ve been thinking about it during my free time. So far all I’ve been able to come up with is meeting Ymir herself on the day the rumbling begins.

“I have no doubt you won’t. But I wasn’t talking about that.”

“What else could you have been talking about — oh.”

Yeah, the one curse even more ancient than Ymir’s curse, the curse of the titans, was the curse of life. Nan was 80 years old. And I would be gone for 6 years, maybe longer.

“Yes, my child. My years are numbered. I may be on my way today, or several years from now. Time is a fickle thing. It doesn’t like being predictable.”

“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. “It seems to be telling me all of its secrets lately.”

“Yes. But who knows why that is.”

I breathed out with melancholy. A breeze passed by and I could feel its soft greedy touch try to carry away several strands of my black hair.

“Well then, why don’t we pray to whoever is up there beyond those clouds that you will still be here to greet me back home. I’m gonna need a familiar face after betraying everyone I’ll meet.”

“Sweet child. You will still have your brother waiting for you.”

“And I’ll receive you with the widest arms you’ll ever see.” Willy clasped a hand over my and Nan’s shoulder and brought us into a group hug.

Tears started rolling down my face. They warmed up my skin that’d been being attacked by the night’s cold. Why didn’t this feeling feel familiar to me? Only memories were locked away, not feelings? So what kind of life did I live that would break my heart at such a normal family action?

A sigh tried clawing its way out of me causing my chest to rattle.

“I don’t remember you guys at all. I don’t even remember living any kind of life. But this past year has been the best I can imagine anyone having. Thank you,” I was full out crying now.

Willy let go and I drew back to start brushing away the stubborn tears that came out with each sniffle.

“Don’t go soft on me now, Ellie. I’m about to give you the best parting gift you could ever want,” Willy cried.

“Asshole,” I punched his arm playfully.

“My name actually means something smaller,” he winked.

“Don’t lie to me, taking the wheel on an entire nation takes bigger balls.”

_ Honk! _

The horn of a car, what we’d been waiting for, stole our attention.

“Let me help you down, Adaleigh,” Willy dashed toward the open door of the car.

I stood, staring intently at the feet that touched the ground. Pale feet with perfectly manicured nails wearing strapped sandals.

Willy pulled the rest of her out of the car and closed the door behind her. He tapped the roof twice and it sped away.

I felt as if someone knocked the wind out of me as I looked at the woman. Her eyes shined like gold. Not to mention she was beautiful. I guess I’m attracted to girls then cause my head was pounding with emotions.

“I think I’m liking this goodbye present.”

An amused laugh escaped from her. “Well isn’t she a charmer.”

“That’s Elizabeth for you,” Willy grunted in pain as I kicked his shin in response. “She’s also a handful.”

“My life will always be at the disposal of your family,” she gave a polite bow.

“Ellie, this is Adaleigh. She’s always been under the head Tybur’s watch. We can’t let anyone know who’s the carrier of the Hidden Titan after all.”

I felt all of my blood drain from my body.

“You mean…?” My stomach growled uncomfortably and I instinctively pressed my hand against my mouth.

Nan’s familiar grip soothed me as she softly massaged my shoulders. She might be trying to calm both our nerves by doing that I realised as I looked at her eyes to see grief staring out into the world.

“Yes. You’re going to have to consume her. The Hidden Titan will make it easier for the Titan holders to believe your death.” He turned to Adaleigh nodding for her to continue.

“My titan will also help you infiltrate Paradis much easier than the others.”

“H-how?” My eyes stung but I wasn’t going to let it bother me yet.

“My titan allows its holder to inherit memories of the Eldians it consumes.” Her eyes flickered down to meet my gaze. They were dark and violent. “Use me to save the world from Paradis’ devils.”

“I need a moment,” I proceeded to run away like a coward. This wasn’t like the faceless soldiers I massacred earlier. I didn’t meet them before burning their city to ash.

I stopped when I felt light-headed, like I was at the point of passing out, and huddled next to a tree as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Elizabeth, wait. You’re going to need all the help you can get.” Willy’s touch, normally a kind and protective gesture now felt rough and impatient.

“I can’t, Willy. We’re talking about eating another human! I can’t do that. It’s just wrong.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Ms Tybur.” Adaleigh interrupted.

I looked up in confusion. She was walking our way. Couldn’t she see that this was too much for me? Or was she going to reveal another secret of this world, that the power of the Titans can be passed on without consumption?

“I’m nearing the end of my term.” She smiled weakly.

“How long have you had the Hidden Titan?”

“10 beautiful years. Thanks to your family I lived a fulfilling and easy life in that time,” her smile was soft and her gaze looked sad but somehow I could feel the life that she lived.

She looked up at me and her eyes ignited with the same determined look she had earlier. “Let me help you.”

I sighed in exasperation. She wasn’t going to give up and I really needed this power. Shakily I stood up. “I can’t, unless you put up a fight. I-I’m not going to just take a- a fucking defenceless life.” I wiped the tears from my face. “I’ve been training to be a Warrior for a year now. So deal?”

She took my hand with a firm grasp. “Deal.”

“We’re going to have to leave then.” Willy turned to start walking.

“Yes, let the girls have their fun,” Nan agreed.

While we waited for Willy and Nan to get out of range, we ended up taking the opportunity to make some conversation.

“You’re a little mature for your age.”

Oh yeah. I keep forgetting that I’m 12 years old. Marley really liked getting children to inherit weapons of mass destruction. I guess it was because of their flexible morals and mouldable brains.

“I get that a lot.” My stomach churned at the idea of small talk.

“Willy told me that it might be because you spent a long time experiencing memories of the future when you inherited your titan.”

I nodded.

“So, the Hidden Titan’s supposed to let you manipulate your appearance. How do you do that?” I asked.

“You’re supposed to be surrounded by Titan skin to do that. So I transform with the goal of changing my appearance, with permission of course.” She combed her fingers through her red hair.

“About your Titan memory inheritance, what’s it like? Does like my personality get affected with all the memories I get?”

“No. It’s more like watching a Theatre Play except through a more personal point. When you watch a play you don’t have your own person overwritten, do you?” I shook my head. “Exactly. And when you want to ‘remember’ something, their experiences get recalled.

“Oh, it looks like they’re far enough away now,” I turned to see my brother waving at us. “I hope you’re sure about this, cause I’ll give you the fight of your life,” she smirked.

“I’ve done a lot of training, which I doubt you’ve done recently,” I raised my knife menacingly. I hope she didn’t notice the shaking.

“No, but I’ve got experience.”

She was extremely fast. I still hadn’t even registered her movement when she bit into her hand. The blast of hot air was threatening to throw me away as titan energy wrapped around her.

I ripped my blade out of its sheath and let the rushing air steal it away. I couldn’t help but yelp as I plunged it into my palm and initiated my own transformation. The darkness of night had been chased away by the eerie glow of our titans as they formed.

Before my titan had finished forming, I raised a bony arm half-covered with muscle and summoned a massive spike out of the ground to pierce Adaleigh’s titan in the torso.

With the head start, I was able to concentrate on creating my titan. And while the Hidden Titan had finished forming, it struggled to get out of the spike.

Light was refracted from my palm as I created my weapon of choice, the scythe. Adaleigh stopped struggling by now and just watched as I reared back and struck with the blade. It sunk through her neck like butter and the titan head rolled on the ground.

Heated air hissed as Adaleigh exited her nape and I stood glaring at her. I was still hesitating despite being reassured that she would be dying in a few years anyway. It just felt wrong eating someone else.

As a result of my hesitation, Adaleigh was able to leap out and form another titan. I reeled back again for another attack but this time when I swung, her Titan weaved under my attack. I was committed into the swing now and all I could do was watch as decked me in the face.

I was knocked back a couple of steps. Fighting another titan was not like fighting all of those soldiers from earlier today.

Adaleigh raised a fist and roared. I raised my fists and covered my face behind my arms but she didn't swing the way I expected.

My scythe snapped as she brought her fists down on my head. I was knocked down on the ground causing the ground to shake.

Before Adaleigh could hit me again, I reached out and dragged her feet flipping her onto her back. And just like that, I was on top dominating her.

Spikes sprouted from the ground shattering her wrists and puncturing her torso and shoulders. With her immobilised, I pulled her head forward and leaned into her nape.

My real teeth ached as my Titan’s teeth punctured tissue. And moments before I closed my jaw over her body I could hear her last words.

“Good luck.”

I wasn’t too happy when I dragged myself out of my titan. The Titan creations I made were already disintegrating back into nothing.

Adaleigh’s Titan, the only thing that was left of her was also falling apart now. Exposed veins dripped their secretions on the ground which slowly turned into steam. She was 20, she could’ve lived for another 3 years but I had to arrive in this world.

I could feel her in my mind. Her entire life was now a part of me and I could watch them like someone watches a movie. They will never meet their owner again. New memories will never form to add to the story they’d been weaving.

But I had to do this. She was on a time limit anyway.. I’m a woman on a mission now. And I can’t afford to lose sight of the objective.

The objective. What was the objective again?

The Warhammer was almost gone by the time Willy came back. Within the evaporating flesh a rose bush made of hardened titan skin was peaking out. My tribute to Adaleigh’s life.

“Look at me, Elizabeth.”

I reluctantly looked up at him.

His eyes didn't betray a single emotion. He had the one thing I needed. A hardened soul to perform my duty.

“Your plan is to save the world. To save me, to save us. I’m here to tell you not to do that, focus on yourself instead. Your main goal is going to be to survive above everyone else.” At that moment I wasn’t looking at the man that had become my brother. No, I was looking at Satan himself. Lord of the devils. The man who will be pulling on the strings behind the scenes.

Humans are so much worse than devils. Humans will always find reasons and excuses to kill each other and will always find a way to shrug off the blame while a real devil would take pride in its work. Maybe I should take pride in what I will be doing and embrace being a true devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As long as I can keep up with school, I'll be updating every Sunday at 2 pacific time. Like an hour after Attack on Titan airs its episodes so that people can catch up with them first.


	4. Into the Jaws of Ymir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth finally embarks on the Paradis Infiltration Mission but she has to deal with a small problem before she gets to the walls.

It was early in the morning. The sun was barely rising making the sky adopt a grey appearance. The birds were chirping, filling the world with natural background music. And the ocean was talking, trying to communicate with this day's batch of sailors that were going to fill it.

"Elizabeth, I wanted to give you something." Willy stopped me from getting out of the car when it stopped.

I waited curiously to see what he had to give me. Whatever it was must've not been approved by the general since we were only supposed to take with us some camping equipment to reduce suspicion from the island dwellers.

Then from his pocket, he took out something small and showed it to me.

"Nan thought that you would like it if you had something to remember us by." He held up a thick black ring that had a streak of blue in the middle on top. "We're not going to be able to see what kind of young woman you grow up to be. Nor will we be able to keep you safe, not that you need to be kept safe. But still, if you're ever in serious danger, this ring will be our way of keeping you safe."

He stroked the blue streak and out popped curved spikes that shined with a dangerous light. I was so entranced by their beautiful danger that I flinched when he pushed them back in.

"It's kind of loose, isn't it?" He gave it to me to put on but it felt like it would slip off with the wrong movement.

"Yeah. We don't want you to grow out of it too fast." I couldn't help but chuckle along with him. "Okay then, let's go see your fellow Titan holders." We opened the door to be welcomed by the sight of one of the candidates.

"Elizabeth!" Marcel exclaimed. I smiled and gave him a little wave as I came walking up to him.

Annie was leaning against a wall atop the boat but she spared me a glance paired with a smile. Reiner was the only one who wasn't happy with my presence.

"The holy presence of the Tybur's will definitely make this mission a success," Reiner scoffed. He glowered down at me as he gripped the rail tightly. His knuckles were white and I got the feeling he wanted to do unsightly things to me. And not those kinds of things you might be thinking about, get your head out of the gutter.

"Nice to see you too Reiner," I winked at him.

Next to him was Ido, a redhead with a very energetic personality, a polar opposite to Bertolt. And he clobbered him in the head, "That's no way to talk to a girl, you're lucky she likes you."

I felt my face glow red and an itch spread on my scalp. But I also laughed when Reiner lost his grip on the rail and slammed his face into the cold steel.

"You're crazy!" Reiner spat with a red face.

"You are too," I retorted. But I don't know what possessed me cause I continued, "But don't worry, those are the best kinds of men."

"I still don't think we need you!" He stormed off before I could fluster him further.

"Reiner," Bertolt ran after him.

"I take it you kids are going to be okay alone for a bit?" Willy asked.

I nodded. "That's kind of the point of this mission, Willy."

"Well then, I'll be talking to the captain before you guys depart. If you need me just call."

Annie stayed onboard while Ido joined Marcel and me on the shore.

Ido and I were the only extra variables in this mission. Holder of the Hound Titan and a surprisingly good friend of mine along with Marcel and Annie.

I met them a few months ago when they were busy crushing an entire nation.

Since our Paradis mission was going to become a long-term infiltration mission, the General thought it would be a good idea for us to get to know each other before we were sent off. However, due to my recent inclusion, I didn't have the same long history they had with each other as titan candidates.

"You smell different." Ido skirted around me and drew in a deep breath from my nape. A shiver reverberated throughout my body from the interaction.

"I guess I should smell different. I single-handedly crushed an enemy faction yesterday after all. So you might be smelling all of the gunpowder."

"No, it's not that. It's your titan." I swallowed hard.

I can't let him know about my recent collection. The whole Tybur plan can fall apart before we even make it onto Paradis soil. This is how dangerous the Hound Titan is.

"Well, I just met the inheritor of the Hidden Titan. Maybe you're smelling her." Hiding the truth with the truth, or at least a partial version of it. It's one of those stupid ass anime plans that will work out in the end.

Ido's eyes flew wide.

"You met the Hidden Titan!?" Marcel cried out. "What were they like?! What does their titan look like?" Or it would just excite them into forgetting about everything.

"You know," Ido ran a hand through his hair trying to look cool, "We met their compliment the Mole Titan. She's a lot older than us and she's not due to transfer her Titan for another few years but she treated us like her little kids. She would've even come to see us off if Marley hadn't sent her on another mission."

"It's a shame the two titans were separated from each other, but the Hidden Titan was very nice. She and I were able to talk about what her titan's like. It's like any other 14-metre titan and most of her skills come from her own training." I twirled my hair around my finger remembering how easily she was able to dodge my attacks. "She's also very pretty with her red hair and golden eyes."

"So, do you think you can introduce us?" Ido nudged me. The display of his desperate prepubescent hormones made me chuckle.

"Ido, you do know that this is going to be a prolonged infiltration mission right?"

"Oh yeah." He looked at me in realisation. "You're the one who told the general about the future, huh. What do you know is going to happen to us? We're definitely going to beat those island devils in the end, right?"

My heart tightened when I looked at Marcel. His fate was going to be the worst out of everyone's. He showed compassion on his way to the walls and he might've even stopped the mission right there if Ymir didn't eat him. Saving him might help me in the end.

"I was told not to tell anyone about the memories I have. But what I can tell you is that everything will work out in the end."

Maybe. I don't think I ever saw the conclusion to Attack on Titan before I wound up in Elizabeth's body. And Grisha's warning was so ominous not to mention that I'm in a new world now. Completely different from the one that was a show.

It was broad daylight when we had to board the ship. The floor rocked softly as we crawled further into the ocean. I breathed in the cold salty air as I watched Willy grow smaller in the distance. This marks the beginning of my mission.

Okay then, I need to set a few goals in order to help me get through the day. It helps me focus on the mission if I break things up into small Stages. Stage 1, Inheritance, and it’s goals.

Goal Number 1: Stop Marcel from being eaten by Ymir. That would also take her out of the equation. A character I didn't even like in the first place when I watched the anime.

Goal Number 2: Get rid of Ido. He's a great kid but he endangers my mission. I doubt I could get him to side with me if I revealed my plans to him. He was almost as loyal to Marley as Reiner was. Even though he was starstruck about the Tyburs he still wouldn't abandon the brainwashing he's been through.

I do have to admit that having a titan follower loyal to me would be extremely helpful. I begrudgingly realised that I might have to reconsider Ymir's involvement.

Possible Goal Number 3: combine the first 2 goals and have Ymir devour Ido. I'm going to have to get Ido away from the group and force the others to run away. Then I'll have to incapacitate Ido long enough to let Ymir close in on his nape. I can do that by trapping him in some hardening.

Then I'll have to stick close to Ymir. Help train her and gain her trust. I should be halfway there after freeing her from her eternal punishment. But I'll have to stop her from meeting Historia. I can easily do that by making sure she stays with me. Then she would only be able to meet Historia when we enlist in the scouts in 3 years.

My face flushed. She was a crazy girl from the mental and emotional torture she underwent while living with her mom. But she was also very attractive and would end up becoming a powerful figure for Eldians.

"Are you okay?" Annie interrupted my thoughts.

I turned to face her. Her blonde hair looked more orange in the harsh sun. Somehow I managed to get her to trust me during our time together. If I talked to her I might be able to get her to join me and I wouldn't need Ymir in the end. But if I do that I would also be preventing all of the betrayal that would progress Eren's hatred for the outside world.

Sure the revelation of the Titans being sent by Marley could still shake him but he might turn out like his father and lose his nerve.

Still. I didn't like the idea of letting Annie waste a majority of her time limit.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

She nodded and turned to walk away.

"Annie." She stopped but only turned to show me half her face. "Don't underestimate Reiner. He may seem like a weak kid, but he'll grow up to become an important man."

"Whatever you say," she sighed.

* * *

“We’ll set up here for tonight.” Marcel dropped his stuff and everyone else started doing their assigned works. My job was to build a fire for us to cook out food with.

We sailed for 5 hours. All that constant rocking ended up taking a toll on us and ended up slowing us down on our way to the walls. We were all tired and restless about the new plan Marley had set for us to do. I was also running out of time on how to save Marcel and kill Ido.

In the quickly setting sun, I was able to nurse a flame out of a spark and once it was comfortably ablaze we were blanketed in its warmth in exchange for allowing it to observe us.

Reiner and Bertolt sat further away from the group. Reiner kept casting me some glares during his conversation with his friend. And Bertolt was staring at the ground with a haunted look in his eyes. I guess Bertolt still wasn’t over the horror of what was being asked of him.

“Everything starts tomorrow, huh?” Ido nudged me.

Please god, why? My nose itched and tears welled up in my eyes. Ido kept coming back to me like a boomerang. The guilt was making it hard to form a plan for his death.

“Yeah, everything starts tomorrow.” I wiped away my tears with the edge of my sleeve before anyone could see.

We watched in silence as Annie and Marcel focused on their cooking.

This was going to be the last time our group would be together. After tomorrow I’d hopefully get rid of Ido — god I hate myself for going through with this — and Marcel had a large chance of defecting. Out of everyone, he was the least loyal to Marley and the most emotional. Bertolt was loyal to his friendship with Reiner who was impeccably loyal to his oppressors. And Annie I hope I had seeded with enough reason to follow Reiner in the end.

“It’s great having another girl in the group you know,” Annie admitted as she poured me a bowl of broth. “I’ve had to deal with a team of boys ever since they sent Pieck away to deal with an insurrection.”

“I didn't think anything could pierce that thick shell of yours,” I joked.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m still human. And they drove me crazy. Sometimes I thought about bashing all of their brains out. Though I doubt Reiner has one for me to smash in.”

“Hey!”

I took a long sip out of my broth as she plopped down next to me. Not even a second later she placed the wooden bowl upside down next to the flames.

“Wake me up before daybreak.” She said before slipping under her cloak and laying down next to me.

I had difficulty falling asleep. Everyone else eventually dozed off leaving me in charge of the fire.

There were dark clouds covering the sky making it devoid of the starry life it usually had and there wasn’t going to be a moon either. The only source of light came from the fire. I sighed in exasperation. Daylight was only a few hours away. Marcel was going to wake up first and pull Reiner aside and he would be eaten if I couldn’t come up with a plan to save him.

My nerves were shot. My brain was hurting. And I had the cold sweats from having my time window closing in.

I placed a hand on the ground. Ymir was buried somewhere around here. What I needed was a miracle. Unknown to me that’s exactly what I would be getting.

I have no clue when I fell asleep but I did. And it was Reiner’s terrified screams that woke me up not the shaking ground that was splitting the ground into plates of clumped-up earth.

“What’s with all the…” I looked up to see Annie’s pale face. I followed her gaze to see that in front of us was the stretching form of Ymir’s titan with dirt sliding down her body.

This was the first time we were seeing a pure titan in the flesh. It also didn't help that Ymir’s titan was a lot more terrifying up close. Dirt covered her small body and some was even lodged into her teeth. Her hair looked grimy and unwashed and complimented her creepy unproportional body. But the worst thing was her eyes which were black and soulless.

“Marcel!” I jumped into action and summoned the blades out of my ring to slash my thumb.

Time slowed down as I transformed. I could feel this transformation go faster and by the time Ymir’s jaw was over his head, my skeleton and muscles were in place.

I swung as hard as I could and delivered a heavy right hook that sent Ymir away from Marcel and made her tumble along the ground. My Titan was forming the shielded skin when she got back up and shook herself like a startled dog. I stood protectively in front of Marcel.

 _Come on, Ymir._ I challenged her.

The ground began shaking like the boat that brought us over. It was difficult keeping my balance as a Titan and ended up on my knees to stabilise myself. More earth stirred and heaved as the crust was being breached. In seconds, more than a dozen 4-metre titans surrounded us with their awkward bodies and sluggish movements.

 _Shit_.

“ _Annie, Reiner, Marcel, Bertolt.”_ I picked up each frightened kid with great care not to squash them in my giant hand. “ _You need to get out of here. Transform, Marcel, and keep them safe. Reiner shall be in charge. Breach the wall no matter what_.”

“NO! We can help! Elizabeth!” Reiner screamed as I charged up my throwing hand.

“ _Ido has me covered. Besides, now you won’t have me around to bother you_ ,” I winked at him.

“Wait!” Annie snapped out of her stupor the moment they left my palm. I watched as Marcel restrained her, the same thing happened with Bertolt and Reiner, until yellow lightning hit Marcel.

“I got you covered,” Ido nodded at me before biting into his hand.

I couldn’t help but feel guilty as his titan formed. As soon as we were in the clear, I’d have to restrain him for Ymir. My devil will be taking control in that moment.

Ido roared as he barrelled into a titan. The others stared as Ido clawed out their friend’s nape.

Slowly they realised that their end to their eternal torment was in front of them and they swayed over to him. I focused on Ymir though. She was still sitting there looking at me. She hadn’t even moved her head during the past few minutes.

“ _Ymir,_ ” I boomed. “ _Do not worry, soon you will be whole again._ _I just need you to stay still_.” Air shined around her which I guess spooked her because she began trying to get to me. Unfortunately for her, the air crystallised into Hardened Titan Skin trapping her in a cage.

Ido roared again. He was being overwhelmed by 3 titans that were pulling on his Titan’s shaggy beard that looked like a wolf’s mane. 4 others were on the ground already boiling away. Meanwhile, the remaining 6 were walking in the direction Marcel had run off to.

I opened my palm allowing my signature scythe to form. Then I slammed the blade into the ground hacking it apart. Spikes erupted out of the ground striking several titans in their napes and the others were just decapitated.

With them all dead, Ido was able to get back on his feet again and he came out of his titan with a violent hiss. Titan skin that connected him to his body painfully snapped off his cheeks.

He looked like an innocent kid overjoyed to have escaped his demise.

“What’s wrong, Elizabeth?” He smiled at me. “You look worried. If it’s about the others, don’t be. They have things under control and we can catch up to them in a few hours. They’ll have had lured away most of the titans that wander around the walls.” He struggled to remove his feet from his titan but he found his way onto the ground.

“Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can meet up with them.” He turned and began walking.

Behind me, Ymir grunted as she gave up on her escape. My heart felt empty. I didn't want to do this but I had to. There was no other way.

“ _Despite the devil spawn that occupies the island, you have to admit that the place is beautiful._ ”

The sunrise on this island was different from the one I experienced for the last time in Marley yesterday. It was a bit warmer out here. There weren’t any birds singing. And instead of a sea of metal and a blue expanse on both sides, there were pockets of trees dotting random places.

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Ido admitted.

“ _What do you think about Marley? Do you believe in the mission they sent us to do?_ ”

“Well yeah. It’s the only way to keep the world safe.”

“ _And the people that need to suffer?_ ” A brief moment of Silence.

“A noble sacrifice for the greater good. Why are you asking me this? Weren’t you the one who made this plan?” He turned to look up at me.

“ _Everything I do and will do is also for the greater good. Even if I end up becoming a devil in the end._ ”

Ido cocked his head in confusion.

“ _You became a hero to Marley the day you volunteered to be a candidate y’know. I’ll make sure they remember you._ ”

Fear shined in his eyes as realisation struck him. He frantically bit into his hand but I was already in full swing.

My scythe broke into the ground again and columns sprouted out of the ground as Ido’s titan formed. Despite their broad tip, the columns were able to break into his body and immobilise him.

I turned and slashed through Ymir’s cage granting her freedom.

She didn't need much convincing as she scrambled over to my incapacitated friend.

Air hissed as Ido broke through his nape struggling to escape before Ymir could reach him.

“Elizabeth! The joke’s over! Help!” His cries came out fast and breathless. My own heart was racing as I forced myself to ignore him. My eyes burned and muscles twitched but my titan retained a stone face as I watched.

“Please! The others don’t need to know!” Ymir yanked him out of his titan and opened her jaw as wide as she could and slowly brought him up to her mouth.

Ido was about to bite his hand again. I don’t think he would’ve been able to transform. He already transformed twice in such a short time but I couldn’t take any chances. I willed the columns that surrounded him to grow a spike and severed his hand. He wouldn’t be able to transform now that his body would be focused on regenerating the missing limb.

“ELIZABETH!!” His cries were cut off as his head disappeared behind Ymir’s teeth. Blood spewed into the air. Some made their way onto my titan spraying the skin with Ido’s blood.

In the end, Ido suffered an even worse fate than Marcel. He was betrayed by his friend and murdered in cold blood. He wasn’t even allowed to defend his own life.

My titan began crystallising as I escaped from the nape. Hot tears streamed down my face, hotter than the steam escaping my titan. He trusted me and I intentionally led him straight into the jaws of a titan. I wouldn’t let myself forget about my betrayal and I would force the world to bear my sin by hardening the shell of my titan out here. It would never erode now.

I blinked away my tears. This still wasn’t over.

Ymir’s titan was curled up. She wasn’t searching for anyone to eat anymore. If I recall correctly, it took an entire day for her to emerge from her pure titan for the first time. It would be long enough for me to change myself too.

I removed my shredded cloak. I was thankful that the clothing damage trope doesn’t affect children and only the cloak suffered. Actually, never mind, there are some really questionable shows out there in anime.

My eyes wandered to Ymir for the last time. When I come out, it would be as a different person.

This is an anime world, the laws of physics would certainly be anime tropes, at least I hoped it would. That meant that if I wanted to survive I would have to turn into a main character and that meant that I needed to look like one too.

I’d already put some thought into this during our expedition yesterday. I’d keep the black hair and brown eyes I had since most anime protagonists that I’ve seen usually have those generic features. I’d also give it a streak of colour to make me stand out more. Characters with generic designs always die. Eren looked generic as hell but his personality and glowing green eyes as a titan. I would also need to have a soft approachable face. Not the one I had that almost always seemed to have a haunted expression. Last was a change to my bloodline.

I vaguely remember having a Hispanic heritage in my past life. And everyone out here was a white. The only difference was their hair colour. The problem is that I don’t know if changing my bloodline would increase my chances of survival or if it would paint a target on my back. I ended up choosing to change it. I would be oriental in appearance. Mikasa didn't seem to be fated for death. And Kiyomi was a badass woman who might have avoided death.

As crystals formed around me, I laughed at the backlash this kind of decision would hold in the world I came from. This world had nearly a century more to go before it would enter that era. I wonder if America even existed in this world.

* * *

The sky was vibrating with life when I woke up. It was filled with so many stars and meteors streaking through the air. The coordinate path was so beautiful too as it collected all the stars in its path.

I couldn’t help but stargaze for a while until Ymir’s groans woke me up.

Quickly, I ran over and draped my cloak over her. Her skin was a little cooler than the last time I checked her.

I’ve made my choice. I can’t go back and try again.

“Hello, Ymir. I have to catch you up on a lot of things.”


	5. Ruins of Shiganshina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After rescuing Ymir, Elizabeth has to figure out a way to infiltrate the walls and learn about life on Paradis to blend in.

_ Sssssssss _

Steam blasted out into the air as I pulled myself out of the Warhammer. Cold air stung my eyes from the change in temperature. Though my muscles did feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

In front of me were the fabled rings of Paradis. Their size couldn’t hope to be rivalled by anything built on the mainland. It was a shame that Reiner and Bertolt ruined their beauty. The breach would be sealed at some point in the future though it wouldn’t be the same with Eren’s crude Titan ass jutting out of the walls.

I climbed down to the ground to join Ymir who was already going on ahead by herself. Before going through, I looked at my titan and noticed that its appearance had changed somewhat.

Before, my Titan’s mouth and neck were completely exposed with small strings of white shell over them. Now it was mostly covered with the only openings being incisions that looked like muscle ruptures exposing parts of the skin underneath.

I also noted that the shell changed colour. Instead of the pale white that every Warhammer inherited, it was now a dark grey with Golden eyes that clashed with its appearance instead of the cold blue eyes that matched the cold appearance of the previous shell.

I bet this was all a result of the Hidden Titan’s changes on me. According to the Research Society, Every Titan’s appearance is based on genetics which I guess makes sense for the Galliard Jaw Titans. But the Hidden Titan is the exception since it can change appearance on command. Not that it provides any use for anything other than camouflage.

“So how are we supposed to save the world, dear Mistress?” Ymir interrupted my thoughts. Sarcasm dripped from her mouth. I was already starting to regret… A sigh escaped me. There was already a knot in my throat causing an ache.

“We’re both 12. You don’t need to call me that,” I swallowed.

“Call you what, Mistress?” I ignored her. Her goal is to try and get a reaction from me, she wasn’t going to get one. I would focus instead on the goals ahead of us.

We’re on to Stage 2 now. That means we have new goals to fulfil.

Goal #1: infiltrate the refugees that are fleeing the walls. In order to do that, I’m going to need inside knowledge of how society works. A surface overview from the anime isn’t going to cut it which leads to my next goal.

Goal #2: Find someone to eat. I assume every inhabitant of Shiganshina left during the chaos yesterday. But there must still be some stragglers that the Military Police are going to try and rescue. Maybe they won’t be coming today. I have no clue how long it takes people to get from one wall to the next.

But if they are, I need to be careful not to attract their attention. Not just to avoid Levi’s wrath but to also avoid becoming another one of the Abnormal Titans that appeared out of nowhere. If I become known then that means that the other titan holders are going to be aware of us.

Goal #3 is simple. Don’t get eaten and protect Ymir. She barely came back from the dead yesterday and I bet she’s never seen a Titan shifter before. I can’t let her transform until I train her on the basics at least.

“Whatever happens, don’t transform. There’s a chance you can go on a rampage on your first transformation and I don’t want to lose another…” my nose burned. I sniffed and rubbed my sleeve across it. I need to control my emotions. What I did to Ido is unforgivable but there’s nothing I can do about it now and crying over him won’t bring him back.

Ymir followed me, finally staying quiet.

The houses in the district were smouldering piles of splinters. Those buildings were the most forgiving to us as they gave us an open field to look at. Sure, the homes that were still standing could provide cover for us but it worked both ways and hid Titans until the last moment.

We were almost caught once. By a Titan that had a Santa Clause beard. We turned the corner at one of the standing buildings straight into the Titan. It was just standing there looking into the sky so we weren’t able to feel its footsteps.

“Get back,” I whispered to Ymir.

“Why are we hiding when we can fight back?” Ymir groaned. I turned and glared at her.

I moved fast, swiping at Ymir’s face with a sharp rock I picked up from the ground and slashing her skin. She stumbled back falling onto the ground and dislodging debris. I didn't even notice at the time because I had enough of Ymir’s rebellious attitude.

Steam wisped off her face as the cut healed.

“Don’t heal. Stop yourself from healing and I’ll let you go off on these titans,” I ordered as I cut her again. “I told you to stop healing!”

“How am I supposed to do that!” She roared.

“This is why we’re not fighting! Because you don’t know a single thing about being a Titan Shifter,” I hissed.

“And you know so much more? You know how to stop yourself from healing, big deal. I spent most of my life as a Titan.”

“While you’ve spent the last 60 years rotting as a pure titan, I’ve spent the past year experimenting and learning from Titan experts on how to use my power.”

Our argument ended up attracting the Titan’s attention. We were so distracted by our argument that his thundering footsteps went unnoticed. It wasn’t until he peered over the corner and stared straight at us when we noticed.

It didn't matter that I had the second most powerful regular titan. The massive shadow that shrouded us in coldness sent shivers down my spine. My mind replayed Ymir devouring Ido but this time it was me in her hand.

“I’m going to…” I grabbed Ymir’s hand before she could do anything and started running.

“Don’t transform. Please, I know you don’t trust me but please don’t do it. Not yet,” I begged.

Ymir’s hard scowl didn't change but her eyes reflected a delicate understanding of what was happening. Either that or she was weighing the options of me absolutely destroying her in a Titan on Titan fight if it came down to that. “Fine, but if you can’t protect me, I’m transforming. Whether you like it or not,” her eyes burned into mine angry at the power struggle we were pulling between us.

“Then I’ll take you down the hard way if I have to.” I pulled her into a building and we watched as Santa Beard ran past us.

“You can try,” she spat and yanked her hand away from my grip.

I growled as she walked back into the open. She was impossible to deal with! I just wanted to tear my hair out whenever I talked to her because she turned everything into a fight to show she doesn’t need anyone’s help.

I ended up kicking the wall out of frustration. I only realised how big of a mistake it was when I hobbled out after her.

“ _ Help. _ ” A child’s voice cried out softly. All of the heat drained from my body leaving me behind with some shivers running down my spine.

“Ymir!” I called for her before shakily rushing over to the rubble where I heard the voice from.

“Is anyone in there?!” I dug through searching for signs of life while hoping it was just my imagination. I didn't want it to be a child. It was just wrong.

All of the rocks and wood scratched my hands raw but I kept going trying to ignore the wisps of steam that were battering my eyes.

“Help.” The voice was a little stronger.

My stomach dropped. The last large piece of plaster that I threw to the side revealed a kids hand. This is what I needed but not what I wanted. Everything I want keeps falling into the lap of my hands with a cruel twist. I was expecting the universe to fight me, make it difficult for my plans to go forward. But I never imagined it would fight back in this manner. I wasn’t going to stop trying to change fate and it would punish me for it.

There’s no choice. I have to go forward. A real devil wouldn’t care.

“What happened?” Ymir came walking. I looked up at her with tears in my eyes, there was no hiding them. “Oh.” She understood what was going to happen.

“I need you to make sure the coast is clear,” I pointed at the roof of the house next door. The wall was in shambles but in a neat little pile that would make it easy for anyone to climb up to the roof.

Ymir nodded. I was grateful that I had a moment to myself. Was my life seriously worth more than this kid? What am I talking about? We’re the same age, and a life is a life. Physically, we have the same value at a barebones comparison. Philosophically, I had more value because I could change more things than this girl.

“ _ Help _ …” her cry was even weaker this time.

I cut my thumb on my ring. Yellow lightning struck me from the sky evaporating the tears that streamed down my face.

I opened my eyes to look through my Titan’s eyes. I felt suffocated by the Titan flesh that pressed against my body. Its skin pressed on my face and stretched my skin even harder than last time. I haven’t had a chance to rest since my previous transformations so I guess I was pushing my limit.

My hand reached out pushing debris apart as I pulled the little girl out of the rubble. It felt like my body was on autopilot as everything happened and I was watching everything on a screen.

The girl didn't protest as I held her over my gaping mouth. All of the fight had been drained from her after being trapped underneath the remains of her home for god knows how long. All she could do was whimper weakly as my teeth slammed over her body and snapped her bones. Fluids from her body dribbled down my throat before her mangled body slid down my tongue.

The Previous holder of the Hidden Titan was accurate with her description. Flora’s memories were playing in my mind like a little movie. I could see all the times she went out of the walls with her father. All the flowers she picked. The days she went with her mother into the market to make a special birthday dinner for her dad. I could even see the boy she liked.

She would follow him everywhere as she pined over him, admiring his courage as he stood up to bullies, idolising his compassion as he picked up their victims. His story ended yesterday. Beneath the feet of the Armoured Titan, Reiner.

Still, after these memories stopped, I continued flipping through them looking for a suitable backstory for Ymir. There, I found it.

We would be able to use these girls to fill in any blanks in our backstories.

I was distracted when I got attacked. Yellow light blinded me. Then I got a face full of claws that tore through my eyes.

“ _ Ymir! _ ” I was panicking and swinging wildly.

How was Ymir able to pierce my skin? I screwed up badly in my decision to save her.

_ Rooaooar! _

A second strike of lightning boomed followed by a roar but I wasn’t thinking straight anymore to wonder what was happening.

“ _ YMIR! _ ” I felt the handle of my scythe form on my palm. I threw my caution out the window as I swung it and destroyed a bunch of buildings in the process.

I was focusing all of my healing into one of my eyes and was greeted with some blurry vision. I wouldn’t be useless anymore now and would be able to grasp what was happening.

Through my blurred vision, I could see the shape of a titan stagger into me. I was taken off guard by that and let go of my weapon.

My vision was clear now but I couldn’t believe who I was staring at.

A small 4-metre Titan was clinging to the side of a building snarling at us. Its face was made out of bone and a mane of brown hair danced in the wind. It was Marcel’s Jaw Titan.

“ _ Ymir. Get behind me. _ ” Ymir was transformed like me. A regular 14 Metre but what set her apart was the abnormally large head of hers. With those scary dark eyes and stringy hair.

Marcel clearly recognised her. But if he was out here by himself and not with the others, then that meant that he wouldn’t be communicating with them. At least I hope he wouldn’t because I’m not going to risk killing him right now. I still have plans for him.

The real question was if he recognised me. Did he think I also died at the hands of the Titans that ambushed us? Or was he suspicious of what really was going on?

I looked back at Ymir. Thankfully, she seemed to be in control of herself. But I knew her and how rebellious she is. She’s not going to retreat if I tell her to though I doubt Marcel would let us run away since he was the one who attacked first in the first place.

Before I could come up with a plan, Ymir charged at Marcel and tried to attack. Of course, Marcel was easily able to dodge the attack and ended up biting her hand right off. As she was taken aback by the action he was able to continue and slashed the rest of her arm off with his claws.

Ymir however was too hardheaded or stupid to be intimidated and tried to throw another punch with her remaining hand. This time it connected in the most gruesome way possible. Her fist slammed against Marcel’s shielded face and her fist exploded into a bloody mess.

I still stood frozen as Ymir roared at Marcel trying to make him back off. In a few quick moves, Marcel was on her back ready to tear up Ymir’s nape. That’s when I snapped out of it and moved in to defend her.

My knuckles refracted light as I created dull knuckle claws, a shoddy version of Wolverine’s, and punched Marcel in the face. He tumbled onto the ground. Part of his face guard was cracked and sported holes from where I struck.

More light refraction blinded Marcel as I summoned reinforcements for my fingers to try and grab him.

He weaved through my arms dragging his claws over my body. The hardened titan skin that came with my Titan proved useful. He was only able to crack through the skin but couldn’t reach into my actual body. And there were no openings in my body for him to abuse as he did with my face. Until he got to my shoulders and clawed them up.

That mistake was going to cost him. I clasped my hand over him before he could retreat his hand from my shell’s openings and trapped him in that position to ram him through buildings.

It seemed like that stunt did the trick because he was moving slowly when I let go of him.

I forced a spire to erupt from the ground. Marcel was still too dazed from his trip through multiple houses to dodge the attack and I ended up piercing his face and taking his Titan out of commission.

That was it. That was all of the strength that was in me and I was ejected from my Titan. Hot air lashed over my face as I slid to the ground as quickly as I could. I could feel the groves on my face take up even more space leaving the muscles underneath open to the elements.

“Ymir!” I gasped. “Come on, we have to go.” I limped over as she came out of her Titan. Her eyes were burning with anger at the humiliation she endured. She wasn’t going to listen to me but I had to try to talk some sense into her. “No. Ymir, listen to me. You can’t beat Marcel. His Titan is too fast and he’s got more energy than us.”

Ymir bit into her hand.

I threw myself behind a building as I saw her body emit electricity. 2 lightning bolts struck the area again. Ymir roared as she tried tackling Marcel and I watched in horror as Marcel’s titan swung around her neck and raked his claws into her skull to drag down and tear her out of the nape.

I began to run toward them. Ymir was on her back staring up at Marcel as he was about to devour her.

Lightning crashed over my body as I triggered my transformation. I was already out of energy so my titan came out malformed with the little armour it had fused into the skin and muscle, but there was enough of my titan for me to create a pillar. I put every ounce of my remaining strength on it and it came out of the ground too fast for Marcel to react sending him flying into the distance.

He wouldn’t be coming back to us any time soon. That attack would have mangled his body too far for healing and he already used up his 2 transformations.

My body was sore as I struggled to exit my nape.

“Elizabeth!” Darkness lulled me and the voice sounded so far away.

My body felt like it had a boiling fever.

A weight lifted from my neck as something cut through the nape that only had my head attached to my titan and then someone removed me from where I was.

I tried to blink, open my eyes. Do anything. But I could only see darkness. I tried to speak but I couldn’t even feel my mouth or tongue.

“Come on, wake up. Please hang in there. Don’t die on me.” Were the last words I heard before slipping into the dark abyss.


	6. Refugees of Shiganshina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth meets some familiar faces.

Ymir nursed me to health after I saved her from Marcel. Because of my exhaustion, my entire face ended up fused to my Titan which in turn tore up all of my skin and muscle when Ymir pulled me out of there.

She hasn’t given me a bad time since I woke up. And even when my speech returned, she didn’t fight me on every order I gave. She silently obeyed. It might’ve been the shock from seeing me so close to death but I don’t think this peace will last between us. In the least, her sarcasm would return.

I don’t know what came over me. I could’ve died from overworking my Titan or being exposed to Marcel. I want to say that I was protecting my interests but maybe there was something else. It felt like something took over my body at that moment.

I stared at Ymir for a while as she pilfered through the room. I didn’t feel anything for her so that removed attachment for now.

She still hasn’t apologised to my face for ignoring me and fighting Marcel, I realised as I fought the bit of resentment that was trying to take root. It doesn’t matter, her apology when I was slipping out of consciousness was heard crystal clear and was very much appreciated.

“Take everything you can find. These people won’t need their valuables anymore,” I ordered as I took a very expensive necklace with polished obsidian crystals.

“How do you know they don’t need any jewellery in the afterlife? Women would rather be caught dead than go anywhere special without them.” There she was. I was glad that Ymir hadn’t lost her sharp tongue when she mellowed to me. If she started being more soft spoken it would’ve become eerie.

“I found a sack for our loot,” Ymir tossed a brown bag into the middle of the room.

The sack was filled to the brim by the time we were finished raiding the house that had given us shelter for a day. This was one of the homes closer to the wall opposite to where Bertolt and the others broke through. This area was in respectable condition. I guess the richest people from shiganshina lived in this area.

“Do you want me to carry it?” I offered to Ymir.

She shook her head and slung the bag onto her back. “I’m not as weak as you think.” Then she muttered under her breath. “The only reason why I was beat is because I’m new at this.”

We were ready now to follow after the refugees. My body was still aching and I felt sick but I need to transform. We need to catch up to the refugees as quickly as we can. We’ve already wasted 2 days being here and I still didn't want to risk having Ymir lose control or else she’d end up killing us both.

Electricity zapped the air around me as I cut my thumb. _Krakoom!_ The earth shook as my body began forming and expelling heat from the exposed muscle. The wall was still towering over me like an ant looking at a house. This wall was the last thing Flora saw as I devoured her.

In a way, it was her guardian protecting her from all the bad in the world. Even as she died it provided her with a sense of love as it stayed by her side.

No one knew this about her. I doubt any survivors would even remember her. An unjust tragedy that I wanted to fix in order to make up for the sin I committed on her.

“What are you doing?” Ymir questioned as returned to a crouching position.

“ _Righting a wrong._ ” My fingers dug into the earth pushing past the tough crust. Light refracted on the ground as I formed a statue made of Hardened Titan flesh in her likeness.

Her memories that lived in me helped dictate how I sculpted her face and clothes. She stood there in front of the gate frozen in a happy run as she chased after something no one would ever see. One day, when the Shiganshina Refugees returned to their home, she would stand there to greet them. She would try to run towards her people even though she could never reach them from where she was.

“You’re a monster with a soft heart, y’know,” Ymir commented softly.

“ _I didn't choose to be born into this world. But I have to survive. Still, it doesn’t mean I have to be heartless to do it._ ” My heart skipped a beat as the words escaped me. I don’t know if I could really keep this up.

“How noble,” Ymir sighed. “I wonder how far your heart is going to take you. Because this life we’re going to start living isn’t a path for saints. It’s a path that only devils take.”

The distance to Trost is shorter than what I had to walk from the shore to Shiganshina. But it was still very tiring for me to trek in Titan form. Most titans weren’t interested in us so at least there weren’t many fights that would drain my energy further. And those that did think Ymir would make a good snack were easy to destroy. No crazy structures though.

I was partially sticking out of my nape by the time Trost was fairly close. “ _I don’t think this body will last far enough._ ” My steps were slower and parts of my titan were steaming off.

“How are we going to avoid the Titans?” Ymir protested as I set her down.

“We’re going to have to manage on our own.” I fully emerged from my collapsed Titan. “You need to train your powers before you use your titan near other humans.”

I jumped onto the ground and looked up. I couldn’t help but sigh as I noted the distance between us and the walls.

“Yeah. That’s what I wanted to hear. We’re just gonna serve ourselves to the titans on a silver platter. Why don’t we do it literally, melt our jewellery down and make a real silver platter.” She scoffed. “It’s better than your idea.”

“Once, we get inside those walls, you’re going to have to start calling me Eliza instead. The other Titan holders can’t suspect that I’m still alive,” I said ignoring her comments.

Ymir just groaned.

“Open the gate!” Came the order as Ymir and I came walking up to the iron gate. A chuckle escaped me. That pitiful piece of iron wasn’t gonna to do shit when Bertolt and the others decided to wreck their shit again.

An officer with blond cropped hair and a thin moustache came out to meet us and bring us in.

“Thank you so much, officer,” I blubbered between the tears streaming down my face. “You don’t know how hard it was for us to get to Trost.”

“You’re safe now. Both of you,” He knelt to my level and tried to comfort me. “Where are your parents?” He looked between us though Ymir possessed a serious face so he wouldn’t get any reaction from her.

“We lost them to the titans. They were able to keep us safe by hiding us in the basement. But we were too scared to come out until yesterday morning.”

“You girls managed to get here all by yourselves?” He cried in astonishment.

“We ran all the way,” I sniffed and showed him my bruised and cut feet. I had a feeling we were going to have to explain how a couple of girls made it all the way here. So I stopped myself from healing and removed my shoes. Hopefully the guard’s pity would overweigh his want for answers.

“Come on. You’re going to have to join the rest of the refugees but I’ll make sure you’ll both be safe. The King will decide what to do with us all soon but in the meantime the Garrison and the Scouts will do what we can to make sure…”

We tuned him out as we started walking. Ymir was behind me but she was keeping close.

“Jeez. You’re laying it on thick aren’t you?” She whispered.

“Don’t want him asking questions. Adults will always feel bad for a crying kid.” I turned off the waterworks and wiped my face.

“How Humiliating,” Ymir scoffed.

Eh, if it works it works. I doubt we were going to be questioned heavily like possible enemies. But I think it would be easier if I didn't have to answer a bunch of questions. I wasn’t in the right mindset for that.

The guard led us to a large building like the Lincoln Memorial. But the inside was a vast open courtyard where the refugees were camping out in.

“Thank you so much, uhm…”

“Call me Hannes.” He smiled. “Hopefully we’ll be seeing each other again. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go back to the Brigade of Trost. We’re in delicate matters.” He gave us a sad smile before walking off.

I was left standing there frozen like a statue. I can’t believe I hadn’t recognised him. I guess it’s because he’s still not as buff as he’ll become. Instead he was thin and gaunt with sunken eyes and a very sad moustache.

Ymir looked like she wanted to say something when someone interrupted.

“Hello? Are you girls alright?”

A kid our age cautiously approached us. His blond hair, blue eyes, and innocent expression was a dead give away as to who he was. That and the tenderly worried look.

“Armin?” Instead of my memories, the memories of Flora surfaced to my mind.

The bullies would always be talking about how easy it was to pick on people like him. They would boast about their deeds thinking that it would impress Flora about who could better protect her. Until the day Mikasa beat them up.

Flora also had an encounter herself with Armin. She was starving after running away from home because of a sibling argument. He offered her food and helped talk her into going back to her parents.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Uh, yeah. I don’t know if you remember but you calmed me down when I tried to run away from home. I never had a chance to thank you for that,” I don’t know who was talking to Armin, me or Flora’s memories. But I’ll take the advantage where I can.

Try and establish trust with Armin. If I can get him to ‘remember’ me then I’d have an alibi for my origins which in turn would help me speak up for Ymir.

“I think I remember you,” his face scrunched up. “But you look different. Especially your eyes.” Shit.

“Uhm.”

“I guess you want to rest huh. I heard Hannes talking about how you both made it all the way here by yourselves. It must’ve been difficult. I came with my parents and I couldn’t even take the feeling of being chased by Titans.”

“Yeah. Resting sounds good.” I interrupted.

“Oh. Hint taken.” Armin sheepishly walked off leaving me in peace. I hadn’t realised that my breathing was slowing down during the conversation until I found myself out of breath.

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to pull the strings on everyone if you’re going to be running the marathon every time you talk to someone?”

“I don’t need your nagging.”

“I’m only saying because I care.”

“Since when?” I asked, shutting her up.

We found a place to sit down next to a column. _We were going to be in for one hell of a life for the next 5 years_ I thought as I looked over the crowd of refugees. It stank like dirt and sweat here. The moans of the injured and starving were also a little haunting.

“I’m going for a walk,” Ymir said.

I watched her leave and I was suddenly for the first time since feeding Ido to her, I felt alone.

My thoughts were a whirl and I tried sorting them out. I couldn’t come up with any goals to focus on at the moment and my thoughts were becoming a tempest.

I was saved from the tempest I created when Armin returned with 2 bowls of broth.

“Where’s your friend?” He glanced around looking for Ymir.

“She wanted to go out for a walk. I don’t think she likes being in places where there’s a bunch of people.” This place must remind her of the followers of Ymir I realised. I bet the next 5 years were going to be even worse for her.

I might’ve subscribed her to even more torment when I decided to intrude on her life. Sure in the original timeline she was fending for herself roaming the streets but at least she was able to be about on her own without having to report to someone. I’m going to need to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t try to run away. And if she doesn’t come back I can always hunt her down by making a deal with Kenny.

“I brought these for you both. There weren’t many rations left so I couldn’t get you bread and water.” I accepted the bowl he handed to me and the other one he set on the ground.

“I think this’ll be enough. Thank you.” The sad expression Armin saw on my face wasn’t fabricated, I was actually feeling very lonely.

The reality of not being able to see Willy, Nan, or the other candidates was crashing on me now.

“You lost your family in the titan attack too, huh.” I nodded noncommittally.

“My friends know how you feel. They’re not too good at showing their feelings, but I know they’re hurting inside. Behind all that rage is someone like you. Mourning the life that was ripped away from them.”

“You’re very intelligent, you know that, Armin?”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” He silently took the now empty bowl from my hands and in doing so our fingers brushed together. A spark of Titan electricity emanated from that touch passing on a memory to me.

‘ _That’s why no one likes you. You’re a freak that buries his nose in books living in a world of fantasy._ ’

“Oh my god.” I covered my mouth. I hadn’t realised that I’d repeated the words I was seeing in my head out loud.

“I’ve heard of people like you. Empaths I think they’re called. You can see the most emotional memories someone has. I think it’s a beautiful way to have people understand each other. Whatever you saw was right though. But one day it’ll be useful. I’ll be useful to my friends.” Armin offered me his hand.

I took it.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Eliza. I don’t think I need a last name anymore.”

“Well, then nice to meet you.” He smiled.

We kind of slipped into a moment where we just sat in a comfortable silence staring at each other.

“Your eyes. They’re beautiful, I’ve never seen anything like them.” I raised an eyebrow at his statement.

“Really? But there’s so many people that have brown eyes.”

“Brown? No, your eyes aren’t brown. They’re golden.” Armin dug out a piece of scrap metal from his pocket and handed it to me.

I looked at my reflection and sure enough, I saw a pair of golden eyes staring back at me. Just like Adaleigh’s eyes. Just like the ones on my decaying Titan. Did this have something to do with the Hidden Titan? I was pretty sure I picked brown eyes when I changed my appearance.

“That’s weird,” I whispered to myself.

“Why is _he_ back?” I looked up to see Ymir standing with her arms crossed.

“Oh, hi! I brought you guys something to eat. I guessed you guys might be hungry. I’m Armin Arlert.” I laughed at the boy’s cute optimism making him blush. It really clashed against Ymir’s brooding appearance.

Ymir’s eyes darted between us and I swear if looks could kill, her gaze would’ve detonated a nuclear bomb in this centre.

“Ymir,” she brushed past him coldly to sit next to me barring Armin away from me. She didn't even spare a glance at the bowl Armin brought.

“Uhm. Okay, I need to go meet up with my friends. I’ll see you later?” He looked at me.

“Definitely.” I waved goodbye. “There was no need to be rude, you know.” Ymir met my gaze with an eye roll.

“He’s a scrawny kid. What use is he to you?”

Ymir moved away from me to lean against the column but I could see her glaring at Armin’s back. I don’t know what her deal was but I hope she wouldn’t fuck with my plans.

I felt something wet start dripping from my nose. Puzzled, I touched my fingers to my upper lip where the liquid was flooding over and brought it up to my eyes to see.

My fingers were covered in red. I had a nosebleed going on. I tried to cover it up with my sleeve but all I did was end up smearing it over my mouth and getting Ymir’s attention.

“Whoa, what’s going on? Are you bleeding!?”

“Yeah,” I gasped as I tilted my head back to interrupt the flow.

“Fucking jeez.” I sat still as she came over to my side and took my head into her arms.

“Hey, Eliza. I was wondering if you’d like to come with us to get something to eat.” Armin’s offer startled me and I quickly zipped my bag shut.

I was going through the things wondering how I’d be able to trade them in for money so that they could make themselves useful. I don’t know why I panicked but I did and when I turned to Armin he was giving me a curious look.

“Just some stuff I managed to save from my home,” I sheepishly opened the bag to show him what was inside.

“That’s a lot of gold.” I chuckled at his disbelief.

“Yeah. It is, and I was wondering how I could sell this all.”

“You’re not going to keep it? This belonged to your family,” he asked in a small voice. His eyes looked down as he clutched his arm close to his chest. I could feel his sadness for me.

“I don’t have a home to put these in anymore. They’d be more helpful to me as money rather than having to lug them around everywhere I go. Besides, if we can sell these things we can have a better breakfast than the broth and bread loaves they give us.”

“Wha… what? You don’t have to,” Armin took a step back. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his face. He stretched his collar out uncomfortably as he stared back at his friends.

Mikasa and Eren were busy arguing over something so they weren’t aware of what was going on.

“You would be spending too much if you buy food for you and your friend and then for us.”

“It would be the least I could do if you help me search for a place to sell these wastes of space. Come on. I’ll wake Ymir up and then we can leave.”

I left before he could answer. I was a few feet away from where Ymir and I had gone to sleep and there were a bunch of people huddled in groups on the ground so I had to step over everyone carefully.

I had to shake Ymir a few times before I could get her to wake up.

“What’s wrong?” She yawned. Her arms stretched up as she bent backward to pop the stiff bones in her back. She was smacking her lips when she looked up and spotted Armin. She stared at me with a grave expression. “What’s he doing back here?” She sighed.

Ymir scratched her head looking a little irritated breaking the illusion of her steel face.

“He’s inviting us to go eat breakfast with his friends. It’s also a great time to go sell the stuff we, uh, scavenged,” my eyes instinctively avoided her gaze out of embarrassment.

“Lemme guess, you told him they were like family heirlooms or something.”

“Maybe?” I felt like a mouse in a spotlight.

“You’re hopeless.” She stood up pinching the bridge of her nose and breathed in. “Let’s go then.”

Armin got me formally acquainted with Eren and Mikasa. Ymir like always, stayed next to me refusing to talk to anyone but at least she wasn’t going off on her own.

“Did you guys watch the Big one when it broke the wall?” Eren asked with a hard voice. His hands were curled into fists at the side of his body and you could tell that his jaw was clenched hard.

“No. When chaos broke out our parents threw us in the basement to keep us safe. We came out the next day when the titans had overrun the district and all of you left.” I thought of Ido as I spoke. It made my throat tighten and eyes burn.

I found myself standing still when I finished telling them my lies. Ymir was at my side with her head turned away. I could feel the others staring at me from behind.

“Hey, at least you were brave for your sister,” Armin came up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, no! We’re not sisters!”

“We’re not related!”

Ymir and I both protested.

I reared back. “Our parents just — we. My parents took her in a few years ago. But we’re not blood related.” I scratched my arm. My stomach was turning as I hoped they wouldn’t press the issue further.

“Yeah. I can’t even imagine being related to her.”

Indignation flared in my chest. I looked at Ymir. Her face was red, I guess that’s how much she hated me. Well then the feeling’s mutual. “And I’m glad we’re not,” I crossed my arms.

“Eh,” Armin chuckled nervously.

“Are you planning on joining the scouts?” I blinked. Eren restarted our walk. “It sounds like you both lost a lot that day. Don’t you want payback!?” He roared when he saw a lack of reaction in us.

“Maybe?”

“What do you mean maybe? Are you so ready to waste your life being their cattle?! We’re just being raised so that we can be fed to those things. That damned thing is going to return one day and repeat what they did to our home until there’s no more walls left!” Eren smashed his foot into a pebble and launched it over the roofs.

“And you’re going to make the world a safer place for everyone?” Ymir laughed. “You’re a runt who’s only going to get himself killed. Maybe you were the hotshot in your neighbourhood but you don’t know just how powerful a Titan is.”

“She’s right, Eren.” Mikasa and Ymir locked eyes.

“Then I’ll die trying to be free.”


End file.
